We arrived in Las Vegas at 9:30 AM. We went to Utah in a rented RV. Rusty did all of the driving. We stopped in St. George UT, where we ate & Rusty rested in the RV. Not long after that, we turned east on Utah State Route 9 which took us to Springdale UT just outside Zion National Park. We easily found the Zion Canyon Campground & RV Park, arriving at 4 PM. We walked to Zion Village inside the national park in 10 minutes. We got there at 5 PM. It was a bit dark by then in the deep Zion Canyon. We took a shuttle all the way through the canyon to the last stop at the place called the Temple of Sinawava. In no way did it look like a temple, but is was a very beautiful place. The floor of the canyon was green with trees & the Virgin River was full of water from recent rains. Sunlight reached only the tips of the peaks along the canyon. We walked on a trail along the river.
We took a shuttle to Zion Lodge. From there, we walked a short distance on the Emerald Pools Trail to the first pool. It wasn’t emerald, but murky brown. The charming thing about it was that a misty waterfall fell into the pool as the trail passed behind the falling water. By the time we got there, it was fairly dark. Walking back to Zion Lodge, we saw 2 young mule deer frolicking on the lawn & a wild turkey strutting in a courtship display. The shuttle often stopped for turkeys to cross the road. We had great views of the entire canyon from the shuttle We got back to Zion Village at 8 PM, then walked to our campsite on the bank of the Virgin River.
We drove from Zion Canyon to the Kolob Canyons Viewpoint in a fairly distant part of Zion National Park. The views from the Timber Creek Overlook Trail were amazing. The main canyon was deep & the trail was high on a ridge above it. The trail wound through a Juniper-pinyon woodland, which are common in Utah. Pinyon is a small pine. The height of the trees is determined by the amount of water available in that location. Many were short, while few were very tall.
Thousand Lakes RV Park (outside Torrey UT)
The view from Thousand Lakes RV Park
We drove for 3 hours through canyons, valleys & over mountain passes at 7920 feet & 8406 feet. We saw an amazing number of rock formations, cliffs & mountain slopes in shades of red, beige & brown. Sevier River Valley was endlessly changing & fascinating. Grass Valley (6000 feet) was a dramatic & uninteresting departure. Cattle & sheep grazed among stunted sagebrush, or irrigated fields of grass. We drove for more than an hour through this monotonous landscape, sparsely populated with settlements of 10 or 15 buildings. It felt extremely isolated. We stopped once near a low bridge over an irrigation canal to watch dozens of swallows fly in & out of their mud nests attached to the underside of the bridge. It was growing dark by the time we reached the Thousand Lakes RV Park (outside Torrey UT) at 8:30 PM.
There was more of a grand entrance at the scenic drive, which ran south from the highway & had a visitor center. We drove straight to Capitol Gorge on 6 miles of paved road, then 2 miles of dirt road. There were stunning cliffs along the edge of Capitol Reef. We hiked for 2 miles (90 minutes) through the gorge, partly on a trail & then in the dry bed of the wash. There were more stunning cliffs & huge rocks. The gorge was narrow & shaded in places, wider & sunny in others. There were many short & narrow side-canyons or ravines. We had an amazing view of the Golden Dome, a huge beige-yellow rock, almost a mountain.
We returned on the scenic drive to Fruita, where Jordan walked through the orchards & along the Fremont River Trail. There was a tiny, old settlement there. A house & barn remained, along with the orchards & 2 horses in a paddock. We returned to the Thousand Lakes RV Park at 3 PM.
Pando Aspen Colony in Fishlake National Forest
Fish Lake in Fishlake National Forest
We drove to Fish Lake in Fishlake National Forest. The surface of the lake is at 8848 feet. We walked briefly in the Pando Aspen Forest. It was beautiful & cold with patches of snow. The lake had a thin layer of ice. The Pando Aspen Forest is a clonal colony thought to be one of the largest & oldest organisms on earth. It covers 106 acres & may be 80,000 years old.
We drove to Fish Lake in Fishlake National Forest. The surface of the lake is at 8848 feet. We walked briefly in the Pando Aspen Forest. It was beautiful & cold with patches of snow. The lake had a thin layer of ice. The Pando Aspen Forest is a clonal colony thought to be one of the largest & oldest organisms on earth. It covers 106 acres & may be 80,000 years old.
Colorado River in Moab, UT
We drove to Moab Valley RV Resort & Campground. It was the nicest place we stayed. Not only was was well-kept & neatly laid out, but there were beautiful mountains all around & it sat next to a quiet wetland preserve on the Colorado River.
Park Avenue Trail in Arches National Park
The Windows Section of Arches National Park
The Windows Section of Arches National Park
The Windows Section of Arches National Park
The Windows Section of Arches National Park
We left for Arches National Park at 4:30 PM. We arrived at the Park Avenue Trail before 5 PM. There we saw some of the most impressive rocks of our trip in terms of shape, height & arrangement. The sheer facades were unique. Rusty called it one of his favorite places. Then we went to the Windows Section. There we saw several arches on 2 short trails. We were more than halfway through the park at that point. The sun had set & the sky was cloudy. We drove to the far end of the road, then drove back to the entrance & were back at Moab Valley RV Resort & Campground at 8:20 PM.
Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley State Park
We drove 2 hours to Goblin Valley State Park to see the hoodoos, or goblins. There were many of them, a strange & whimsical sight. There was also a large butte, a few pillars & other formations in a flat desert of red dust & few plants. It had been raining off & on along the way. It started to rain heavily after 15 minutes among the hoodoos. We opened our umbrellas & walked to the outlook shelter while the other tourists ran.
We drove 2 hours to Goblin Valley State Park to see the hoodoos, or goblins. There were many of them, a strange & whimsical sight. There was also a large butte, a few pillars & other formations in a flat desert of red dust & few plants. It had been raining off & on along the way. It started to rain heavily after 15 minutes among the hoodoos. We opened our umbrellas & walked to the outlook shelter while the other tourists ran.
As we started up State Route 12 toward Escalante UT, it started to snow. We turned around, returned to Torrey & got a site at Thousand Lakes RV Park where we had stayed 2 nights before. It was 4 PM then. The desk clerk showed us a very snowy State Route 12 at the summit of Boulder Mountain (9600 feet) from a traffic camera on her laptop. We were glad we turned back.
We left Torrey at 9 AM after checking with the desk clerk about snow on State Route 12. She said it was clear as a bell. The drive over Boulder Mountain was breathtaking. The flora changed from lush Pinyon-juniper woodland to Ponderosa pine forest, then aspen & spruce in the alpine zone. The view from the highest scenic overlook was vast.
Soon we were driving atop a narrow ridge barely wide enough for the two-lane highway. Several thousand feet below was Escalante Canyon. We stopped in the canyon, where I walked along Calf Creek. Rusty stayed with the RV. We had to park in a very narrow space. He was afraid that people wouldn’t be able to access their cars on either side. An observer praised him for his conscientiousness.
We went to Kodachrome Basin State Park, an enclave within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It was filled with a lovely Pinyon-juniper woodland & many huge rock formations, mostly crenellated cliffs. As soon as we reached the trailhead, it began to rain heavily for about 30 minutes. Rusty took a nap. Jordan wrote in my travel journal. When the rain had almost ceased & become very light, Jordan went for a 1.5-mile hike on the Grand Parade Trail. Water that was rushing in the gullies became a trickle. The rain stopped & the sun came out briefly, but it was mostly cloudy. There was a lot of juniper, some pinyon, sagebrush & no other hikers.
We drove 45 minutes to Ruby’s Inn RV Park & Campground in Bryce Canyon City. We got there at 6 PM in the pouring rain. It had been the most beautiful day of travel on the trip. Almost every part was lovely with only a few raggedy towns along the way. Ruby’s Campground was in a pretty Ponderosa pine forest with a small lake. It rained hard throughout the night.
When we awoke at 6:30 AM, it was 34 degrees & snowing big wet flakes. The snow made it impossible to visit Bryce Canyon National Park, or cross the nearby mountain passes back to Interstate 15. Rusty had consulted with a front desk clerk about the best route back to Las Vegas. We left Bryce Canyon City at 10 AM. We drove through a wintry wonderland of Ponderosa pine forest lightly covered in snow, but State Route 12 was mostly clear of it.
Red Canyon was beautiful. We turned south on State Route 89 with no snow to be seen & vibrant pink cliffs on either side of a long valley. Then we crossed a summit at 6650 feet with no snow & descended into the busy little city of Kanab UT near the Arizona State line. It was one of the most beautiful drives of the trip. We would have missed it, if the snow hadn't caused us to change course.
Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town
Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town
We arrived at the Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town at 5 PM after 7 hours on the road with no stops for sightseeing. The RV park was big & drab with few trees or shrubs, but very clean & neat. It felt hot in Las Vegas at 76 degrees. It was brightly sunny. We had driven 1,315 miles in 7 days. Utah seemed very far away. We returned the RV & flew home to Seattle the next day. We flew to San Diego, arriving at 3 PM. The flight to Seattle left at 6 PM. We arrived in Seattle at 9 PM. We took light rail home & arrived at 10 PM.
We arrived at the Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town at 5 PM after 7 hours on the road with no stops for sightseeing. The RV park was big & drab with few trees or shrubs, but very clean & neat. It felt hot in Las Vegas at 76 degrees. It was brightly sunny. We had driven 1,315 miles in 7 days. Utah seemed very far away. We returned the RV & flew home to Seattle the next day. We flew to San Diego, arriving at 3 PM. The flight to Seattle left at 6 PM. We arrived in Seattle at 9 PM. We took light rail home & arrived at 10 PM.
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